Mass Effect: Elysium
by BlueSpartan107
Summary: Connected to the Zach Shepard storyline. Maine and his company rally the residents of Illyria to defend the colony of Elysium from a full-scale invasion, forever leaving his mark on history as the Hero of Elysium. Includes cameos from Urdnot Wrex, Zach Shepard, and more. V,L
1. Prologue: Warning

Prologue: Warning

At the end of the First Contact War, humanity began a push towards expansion within the Attican Traverse. However, batarian slavers and Terminus pirate groups have made expansion problematic. After the attack on Mindoir in 2170, the Alliance pushed for more security over their important colonies in the traverse. Around 2175, Alliance rookie Alistair Rupert Maine fought off a group of batarian pirates attacking an Alliance frigate, the SSV Atlanta, with the help of squadmates Jason 'Wash' Washington, Michael York, and Nolan North. These men were given medals of valor for their heroic deeds, and had received promotions for their actions.

Currently, they are on shore leave, unaware of the attack that would ruin their vacation on the Alliance's crown jewel, ELYSIUM.

FSV Hammer of Dawn, 08:02 am

Edge of the Terminus Systems; February 28th, 2176

Vancar Zona watched cautiously as he heard Elias Halliot, a human pirate ready to stage an attack on a human colony in the traverse, chattered over the comm system on how the Terminus Fleet was going to win with their plan of attack. He walked at a steady pace to avoid suspicion from the other men stationed aboard. His four eyes blinked when he reached the room where his brother was staying.

He looked at his new armor; the white and blue colors of a Calypso lieutenant. None of the other mercs had questioned why his armor was colored that way, but he didn't mind. If they did begin asking, he could end up doing things he shouldn't. The Stranger requested he kept things simple: grab Rodan, find Brodius Bardone and Daniel Darsan, and get them off of the ship as quickly as possible. The fleet had an hour before they were to depart to an unnamed human colony and the two humans he needed to find had potential information that could stop it.

"Rodan." Vancar spoke to the batarian who was cleaning his rifle.

Rodan turned to face him. "Vancar? What are you doing here? I thought you said you would not participate in this war."

"I'm here to get you out of here. We need to leave."

"Leave? Are you crazy? We're about to sack the largest human colony in the traverse, and you want us to leave?"

"I'm saving your life. Elysium will hold their own, and if you go on the ground down there, you won't be coming back."

"I am old enough to handle myself, Vancar. I don't need you anymore to coddle me when I cry."

Vancar grasped his brother's shoulders. "Listen to me, Rodan. I know you are going to die because I have _seen _it! I saw your blood soak the grass outside the walls of the capital. I saw the man who would put the bullet in your head! I was granted the option to save your life before it happens. I suggest you take it, brother."

"How have you seen this 'death' I would befall?"

"My boss, The Stranger, holds many talents that no species could ever dream to have. Come with me, and he will show you what I have seen."

"How do I know you aren't lying?"

"I swear on the armor of our father, Rekal Zona, that I am telling you the truth."

Rodan blinked his eyes before growling. "All right. I'll go with you. But if I find out you're lying, I'll blind you one eye at a time."

"You can try. Head off to the cargo bay. There's a vessel waiting for us to depart."

"Where are you going?"

"I have a job to do." Vancar walked away and headed for the mess hall. The coordinates set marked that Darsan and Bardone were inside this room with three more pirates. They were meant to guard them from an ambush in case any batarian with a grudge wouldn't stay away from Bardone's nephew and his friend. Fortunately for him, Calypso's influence has changed his perspective on humanity to an extent.

From the door, he could see three turian guards wearing the armor of the Blue Suns mercenary group. Their weapons were in their hands and they were itching for some combat. Bardone saw Vancar from the corner of his eye, the brown iris scanning the batarian ready to walk in. Darsan's head turned slightly to face him as he walked in the door.

'Hold it right there!" One turian guard spoke. "The Mastermind's nephew is not to be disturbed during meal time!"

"Don't get your mandibles in a twist." Vancar snapped. "I just came to get some varren skews."

"We're all out." Darsan spoke, activating the key phrase that was to signal them of their transporter.

"Damn shame, then. I always liked them charred."

"There's always something else you could have charred." Bardone smiled.

"You're right." Vancar swiftly threw an incendiary grenade at the turian closest to him, who began screaming in panic. The two guards left standing began pointing their weapons at Vancar, who launched a projectile out of his omni-tool at the second closest merc. The blade pierced his armor, but it only disabled his gun arm. The third turian pulled the trigger on his shotgun, but it only bounced off of his shields. Vancar took cover behind the counter, and he saw that Bardone and Darsan hid under the table. Darsan quickly mouthed two words to Vancar:

_"Sniper rifle."_

Reaching for the long rifle on his back, Vancar slid it on the ground over to the human, who unfolded it quietly. The turian with the blade in his arm continued grasping his damaged limb, which continuously bled the blue life-blood from the severed artery. Vancar pulled out his pistol and jumped up quickly enough to end his life, and when the second turian attempted to shoot him again, the bullet from the sniper rifle pierced his skull. Vancar turned towards Darsan, who smiled at his proficiency.

"Nice shot, human." Vancar smiled.

"I was trained by the best." He folded up the sniper rifle and handed it to Vancar. "Thanks for the rifle, by the way."

"I wasn't planning on using it on a starship."

"Aww, I was hoping to use my biotics." Bardone complained.

"Next time. Let's go." Vancar led the humans to the cargo bay cautiously. The hack on the cameras could only be held for so long before Live Wire would've been caught. After a bit of walking, however, they had reached the cargo bay. Rodan had waited in front of the small cargo ship closest to the hanger doors. His face became shocked when he saw the three of them approach him.

"Are you insane, Vancar? Kidnapping the Mastermind's nephew?!"

"They're coming willingly. We intercepted a distress call from them. They're willing to offer intel to the Alliance in return for pardons for themselves and their uncle, as well as instatement into the Alliance."

"You're helping the Alliance?!"

"No. I'm helping Calypso. They're a universal group that is putting the races of the galaxy into an alliance. I don't care if you agree or not, but we need to work together with the other races; even the humans."

"What you speak would be considered heresy to the hegemony."

"Yes, well, the hegemony can kiss my ass for all I care."

"You know that father would've never stood for this."

"Father died when he foolishly attacked that human colony on Mindoir. While they had succeeded, he got killed by that biotic teen. His own knife was used against him as it slit his throat."

"That only proves that humanity will stop at nothing until we are pushed out of the traverse!"

"That only proves that humanity will always be stronger than us even when their backs are against the wall."

"What is wrong with you, brother? The Vancar I knew would've fought to protect the hegemony at any cost! Not speak of the human as if they are respectable warriors."

"The Vancar you knew had no room for forgiveness or remorse. He was a caged animal, but I am now free. The Stranger has opened my eyes to the truth; that a great evil seeks to destroy us all, and perhaps a greater evil will come after. Only by unity and faith will we succeed."

"You're insane."

"We're all insane. The difference is doing what's right and what's wrong. I know you can see that, Rodan."

Rodan shook his head over his brother's words. "You're not my brother." Suddenly, he wailed in pain as a mech behind him hit Vancar's brother with a neural shock attack. His body slumped on the floor unconscious.

"I'm sorry, brother. I can't let you die just yet. It's either Elysium or Torfan, and unfortunately, I'd rather let you die a hero than a coward."

The mech's yellow eye glowed at the three still standing. _"VANCAR! I'M SO GLAD YOU FINALLY GOT HERE!"_

"Quiet. If the crew hears you, you could compromise more than the mission."

**"Sorry. I almost forgot. The ship is all prepared and ready to go. I recommend we depart immediately. There's a merc ship we can intercept in a matter of hours."**

"We depart immediately. Get Rodan onboard and start the engines. We need to get out of here now."

**"I agree. I can only hold control of the cameras for so long." **The mech picked up the unconscious batarian and the others piled on the ship. Seconds later, it departed and left nothing but a mystery for the rest of the crew.

SSV Brussels, 11:16 am

Orbiting Elysium, Petra Nebula

Aboard the flagship of Elysium's orbital fleet, Admiral Thomas Wauters looked over his C.I.C. proudly. His crew has been with him from day one, and he has looked to Elysium as his second home that he would defend to the death. He did miss his homeland of Belgium back on Earth, but he didn't mind trading it for the beauty of Elysium.

"Sir," One crew member came up to him, interrupting his train of thought. "There's a call on hold in the comm room for you. The caller said his name was Urdnot Wrex, and he had made your acquaintance six months ago during a pirate raid."

Wauters smiled. He remembered the massive red krogan who saved the Brussels from the Blood Pack mercs that attacked. They had fought side by side to stop fourteen charging krogan with nothing but four frag grenades and Wrex's biotics. "Ah, I thought Wrex would attempt to contact me some time. Did he say what his call was about?"

"He mentioned something about a matter of importance regarding the security of our colonies. He claims it's vital he speaks to you now."

"Very well. Thank you for the information. You're dismissed, Lieutenant."

The man walked away as Wauters walked to the ship's comm room. A hologram of Wrex was projected from the stand, and the admiral smiled at the warrior's sight.

"It's damn good to hear from you again, Wrex." The man's dutch accent flowed along his words.

_"Good to see you again. I wish we were really face to face, but I found the situation to be a little too important to wait."_

"My comms officer said you had a matter of importance to discuss; something about the security of our colonies?"

_"Yes. About fourty-five minutes ago, the transport I was on intercepted a small freighter. Onboard were two batarians, two humans, and a flight mech. The humans claimed that they were defectors of a massive uprising of Terminus pirates, and that they were willing to pass information to the Alliance in exchange for amnesty and instatement into the group."_

"Two humans that are part of a pirate gang want instatement into the Alliance? Sounds suspicious."

_"It would be if they hadn't shown me proof. They had a copy of the plans and they presented it to my crew to support their accusations. We don't have any actual idea on which colony they plan to attack; however, our quarian pilgrim we offered to drop off at the Migrant Fleet pieced together enough evidence to suggest their target is Elysium in the Petra Nebula."_

"The entire Second Fleet is guarding Elysium right now; my ship is at the head of the fleet currently. Are you certain Elysium is the target?"

_"I wouldn't be calling if I wasn't."_

The admiral rubbed his chin. "I'll alert Arcturus about this and have my forces prepare for attack. I'm sending the SSV Berlin to your location of choice to pick up the humans for interrogation. And when this whole thing is settled, I'd be happy to offer you a chance to visit the colony, Wrex. I think I owe you that for saving the lives of my crew."

Wrex smiled. _"I'll consider it, Admiral. I'm sending you the coordinates of the Migrant Fleet's current location. We'll meet the Berlin there and transfer the humans into your custody. Stay safe, Admiral."_

"You too, Wrex. Wauters out."

_"Wrex out." _The hologram disappeared and the admiral walked to the intercom.

"Marshall, send a message to all shuttles to prepare for a likely invasion force of the planet. Send the same message to the other outposts across the traverse; including Arcturus and Athens outpost on Elysium. I'm going to call the Berlin and tell tell Admiral Parker to rendezvous with Wrex's ship."

_"Aye, aye, sir."_

"And Marshall, make sure to let the famous Houston squad that their shore leave might be cut early. We'll need every soldier ready if there is an invasion and their forces get by us."

_"As you wish, sir."_

Wauters smiled. He knew that if Elysium was the target, they wouldn't have any trouble. They had the Second fleet ready, and they had Maine; a rookie worthy of the N7 title, which is rare among the other recruits Wauters has ever met. He was sure this would be an easy victory for the Alliance.

One for the history books.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: There won't be any author's notes for the three chapters of this story, but the epilogue will have the return of my ending ramblings. Anyway, I have placed in a reference to Admiral Anderson's story Hero of Elysium in the prologue, and there will likely be others throughout the chapters. There is a cameo to the man himself as well. As such, I plan on adding in a lot of fighting into this story, but I'll attempt to add some character development for the four-five members of Houston squad, as well as the other named characters that are important. Enjoy the story. I plan on releasing the chapters as quickly as possible so I can continue with the Resolution story line.


	2. Chapter 1: Warm-up

Chapter 1: Warm-up

Athens Outpost; 11:00 am

Twenty minutes to Illyria, Elysium's surface

Sergeant Alistair Maine began his routine of exercises within the small locker room he shared with his squad. Despite the fact he was taller and bulkier than his squadmates, he didn't take up as much space as the rest of his team. Then again, living on spaceships his entire life made him appreciate having little room for himself and plenty of room for the crew. He loved ships; living on them, repairing them, looking out into the empty void of space. His parents, while they had little time to spend with each other, spent plenty of time with him and taught him to be appreciative of what he had and to defend those he held close to him. His friends were no exception.

Nolan was the team sniper. He always acted cool with everything, and he knew what to say to make people feel better. He had a sister named Dakota, but Maine's first impression of her was she was a bitch. He was glad she was stationed elsewhere, because if she was with them, he would've put a bullet in her head and just move on. Or perhaps he'd have Jason do it for him.

Jason "Wash" Washington was his best friend and comrade in arms. He wasn't the best fighter of the group, but he had the potential to be a legend. He had a reputation of being the member of the group with heart, but he had that inner dark side that was serious and angry towards his enemy. But Maine could still kick his ass in a fight no matter what side of him people saw.

Michael York was their go-to tech expert. If there was a door or console that needed to be opened, he had it covered. He found himself to be charming, charismatic, and sometimes even a wise-cracking jackass. But he had a kind heart, and as long as you weren't a foe, he wouldn't dare use a shotgun on you. The only real flaw of his was how he was smitten with Carolina, their only female member.

Carolina Church was perhaps the most active member of the group. She was taught by her parents to strive for excellence and to not take crap from anybody. Her best skills came from hand-to-hand combat; a sort of combination of jujitsu and mixed martial arts, which differed from his marine hand-to-hand/street brawler style. Her relationship with York had been obvious to Maine, but he didn't speak against it. While there were rules against fraternization, he couldn't help but feel happy _and _jealous for his friends. Besides, she was perhaps the only one in the group that had a chance at defeating him, and he'd rather not get his ass kicked because he told the Alliance of their fraternizing.

He began to do his pull-ups as his friends entered the room. They were laughing about something that Maine didn't catch. He didn't mind. He just wanted to be prepared for the storm that was coming.

"Hey, Maine." Nolan spoke. "Why are you working out? We're on vacation! We should be out partying and finding us some ladies to take us home!"

"What my companion means to say, Maine," Michael expressed. "is that Carolina has invited us to a club within the city that we're going to visit. You're welcome to join us if you want."

"York, you just want to go so you can lock lips with her after she's drunk as hell." Jason stated, obviously annoyed at their affection as much as Maine was.

"Say that out loud in the military base again. Maybe an admiral will pass by this locker room and hear you spill the beans."

Maine ended his pull-ups session and headed to the weights. He took two fifty-pounders in each hand, alternating between bringing them up and lowering them down.

"Uh-oh." Jason glumly said. "Maine's meta senses are tingling again."

"His what?" Nolan asked.

"Maine sometimes has these feelings that something bad is about to happen. Every time he has those feelings, he always is prepared for the worst. Why do you think he was already in his armor when the Atlanta was attacked?"

"He could've been wearing his armor at the time."

"He came onboard with his armor in his trunk. The Atlanta was attacked twenty minutes later. He even had all of our weapons ready so we could defend the ship, and he had power cells for us to use as shields. He has a gift of expecting what we don't expect to happen."

"You know, I was wondering what he was also doing with that chicken leg. Do you think he also knew about the pet onboard that jumped Georgia?"

"Poor Georgia." Michael shook his head. "She didn't see that cat jumping at her face out of fright of the pirates that attacked."

"I think that was a possum, York."

"What? How'd a possum get onboard a frigate?"

"Hell if I know. I'm just wondering how he knew about it."

Maine set his weights down and wiped the sweat off of his bald head. He then smiled at his friends and pointed at his forehead, indicating he thinks.

"Uh, you know you can talk to us, Maine."

"Maybe he just doesn't wanna." Nolan commented.

"Maybe you should the skycar started."

"Fine by me. Be there in five or I leave without you." He smirked and walked away.

Michael stretched and began walking towards the door. "Well, I better make sure our Dead-Eye Duncan doesn't leave us behind. Hurry whatever other business you have Wash. Carolina's waiting."

Jason shook his head and turned towards his friend. "You know you can come with us if you want, Maine. You could use some time to wind down."

Maine shrugged his shoulders. "Someone's gotta hold the fort." His voice was deep and scratchy from lack of use.

"Suit yourself. Just remember you're going to miss all the ladies that could use a strong man like you. Maybe an asari would want to take you home." He turned around and headed for the door, but stopped when his friend placed a hand on his shoulders. He turned around and saw a pistol in his friend's hand.

"Be prepared."

Jason begrudgingly took the pistol, knowing his friend was probably right about the trouble they were to encounter. "Only because it's you telling me to. I'll see you later. If you want to join us, just give me a call on my omni-tool. I'll come back and pick you up."

Maine only nodded as a courtesy. His friend was only taking the pistol the same way.

"Okay. Catch you later, Maine." Jason headed out to join his friends, leaving Maine alone in the locker room. Feeling like he had worked out enough, he headed to take a quick shower before he answered the comm at 11:30 about the warning.

On the way to Illyria, Jason couldn't help but feel a sense of worry over what his friend was working out about. Just what was going to be so bad he needed a pistol for? It made him feel uneasy. And that's what happens every time Maine has these moments. He's always wondered how Maine's feelings pointed to danger. Was it perhaps some new effect Maine's autism had on him? Being so cast off from the rest of society he had heightened senses of danger? It's never been proven Asperger's Syndrome could have that kind of effect, but-

"You're thinking about something, aren't you, Wash?" Michael asked.

"There's something odd about Maine's heightened sense of danger. It's as if he has this superpower that grants him the ability to sense danger before it happens. It's making me feel uneasy."

"Do you have any proof on that?"

"I've been with him every time he's had one of these feelings. He's always prepared for the situations every time. And he just gave me a pistol. That likely means trouble."

"You actually believe there's going to be trouble at the club?"

"I believe every time Maine gives me something, caution is needed."

"Relax, Wash. You'll give yourself a headache thinking about this."

Jason shook his head, ending the conversation.

"So," Nolan jumped in. "you and Carolina, eh, Michael?"

"Yes, we've established that, Nolan."

"You realize Carolina is kind of crazy, right?"

"She's just determined. That's all."

"Only you would like a girl like that."

"I do have great taste, don't I?"

The car pulled up to a parking space in front of the club and Nolan landed the vehicle. "I think you're both crazy. You're almost perfect for each other. Just don't get caught."

"Please, remember who you're talking to. I'm smoother than all of you guys combined."

"Sure thing, York." And the three friends laughed as they entered the club.

Wrex's Transport, 11:33 am

Approaching the Migrant Fleet

Wrex looked at the two humans that had claimed of the impending invasion. Their proof, which was schematics of the ship they were on when the batarian rescued them, was astounding as it was frightening to those onboard the vessel; Wrex not included because he was a bit impressed. If they had a weapon that could take out an entire city's power grid, imagine the potential it had to plunder colonies and disable ships. The batarian that transported them here continued to watch them as much as Wrex was, as if he was guarding them even from him.

"So, what's a batarian doing guarding a few humans?" Wrex asked.

"The group I follow told me to play nice with the humans. I've had enough contact with humans to release most of my hatred towards humans. So yes, while I'm a batarian, I'm guarding these two humans until the Alliance takes them into custody."

"You act as if we're not the ones to trust."

"Trust has nothing to do with this, Urdnot Wrex. My orders were to guard them until they are in Alliance custody."

Wrex turned to the humans. "So, who's trying to plunder a colony?"

Darsan looked up. "It's notorious pirate Elanos Haliat and Brodius's uncle. They worked together to plan the attack."

"Wait, did you say Elanos Haliat?" Vancar asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Shit. I thought his name was Elias."

"Why'd you think that?"

"No idea, human."

"So," Wrex continued. "this weapon of theirs; who created it?"

"My uncle." Brodius spoke. "They're referring to him as 'The Mastermind' right now. He's ex-Alliance, a genius when it comes to military discipline and science. He's ruthless, sadistic, and dangerous."

"And you want to keep him alive. Why?"

"He is still my uncle. Wouldn't you defend your family despite the sins they commit?"

"My _family _is not like yours. My father tried to kill me, so I killed him. And my brother is an idiot who follows my father's example."

"Okay. I guess not everybody has a family they enjoy. But my uncle is honorable, of all things. It's like playing a game of chess."

"Chess?"

"It's a human game that pits two players against each other with a bunch of pieces that perform certain moves on a checkered board. The objective of the game is to trap the king piece in 'checkmate,' where there is no more room for the king to move. If Elysium's forces hold their own, and I'm sure they will, then my uncle will surrender peacefully."

"Are you sure it will come to that? The weapon the Hammer of Dawn possesses is quite powerful."

"If the kinetic barriers were to fail on the ship, the weapon could be targeted and destroyed." A quarian voice spoke as she approached the group. "At least, that's what I figure will do to disable the ship."

Wrex laughed. "I think you're knowledge of ships would be invaluable right now, Nala'Kados nar Rayya."

"You're just being sweet, Uncle Urdnot."

"You think I'm like an uncle to you?"

"Sure. After what you did on Omega, you've shown enough compassion to be considered an uncle. And with everyone in the fleet only allowed to have one child, it's impossible to have an uncle in the fleet."

The others laughed. "Who knew? A quarian wants a krogan uncle."

"You know," Vancar spoke. "that may be the funniest and most heart-felt thing I've heard ever."

"That sounds wierd from a batarian." Nala spoke. "No offense."

"None taken."

_"Wrex, you're being hailed by the SSV Berlin and the Rayya." _The pilot spoke from the cockpit.

"All right." Wrex stopped leaning on the wall. "I'll be right back. Once I'm done with communications, the humans will be dropped off on the Berlin, and Nala can return to the fleet. Come with me, Nala, and we'll take care of getting the fleet to allow you back onboard."

"Aye, aye, Uncle Urdnot."

"You know, I might start using that if you keep calling me that." Wrex and Nala walked away, leaving the others to smirk at the strange bond Wrex and Nala shared.

Maine was fully dressed by the time his personal comm was buzzing. Smiling, he activated it and saw Admiral Wauters on the terminal.

_"Maine, this is Admiral Wauters. Are you alone at the base?"_

Maine nodded.

_"Figures. Only you wouldn't take advantage of shore leave when it's offered. I just wanted to give the word out that there's been a warning to all colonies of possible impending invasion. I want you to get your team ready and warn the authorities to authorize marshall law if things get out of hand."_

Maine nodded, then saluted. The admiral saluted back.

_"I'll be in touch soon. Wauters out."_

Maine watched as the terminal disconnected. He then went for his heavy liberator armor and picked up his friend's gear, placing it in the other skycar at the base. Slipping on his helmet, he started the car and started driving to the club that his friends are at, as they would likely be in danger.

Michael held two drinks in his hand as he headed to find Carolina in the crowd of the party. Her red hair and light green eyes made her easy to spot for him, so he walked over to her with a smile on his face. "Hey, darling. I brought you a drink."

Carolina turned around. "About time you bought a girl a drink."

"What can I say? There was a big crowd of people and I didn't want to be rude to the other guests."

"You're too nice at times, Michael. It's going to get you hurt some time, if not killed."

"Relax, baby doll. I'll be okay" He offered the drink to her. "Now, why don't we celebrate our shore leave while we still have a chance."

Carolina took the beer from his hand. "As long as you pay for the drinks."

"I'd be happy to oblige."

They clanged their bottles before Nolan popped up.

"Hey, guys, I hate to interrupt your date, but five blue suns mercs just walked through the front door."

"North, don't joke with me." Michael laughed.

"He's not." Jason said in a serious tone. "There are mercs here."

The sound of gunfire filled the room, and everyone panicked in the room, ducking to find cover and screaming in fear. The leader of the mercs, a turian with red tatooes, pulled off what could only be thought of as a smile on his face as he waved his hands to notify his men to fan out. Jason pulled out the pistol Maine had given him, making the others jealous.

"How come you brought a pistol? You're not the best fighter out of us."

"I have the pistol because _Maine _handed me the pistol. So I recommend you shut up and listen to my plan."

_Man, Wash can be such an asshole at times. _Michael thought to himself.

"Now, when a merc comes up close, we'll pull him here to our cover spot and take hs weapons. We charge the rest of them with precise timing of our triggers to take them out."

"And if they have shields?"

"That's why you're here, York. You can overload their shields."

"Isn't there a possibility I could get shot in the process?"

Their conversation was interrupted by the turian barking orders.

"Everyone remain calm and nobody else will have to die. Just hand over Michael York, Nolan North, and Jason Washington. Then we'll leave."

Carolina smiled. Her involvement in Houston Squad was kept secret due to her father's wishes, so they may not know who she is. And her attire wasn't the standard Alliance uniform but her casual clothes. "New plan. Wash, York, cover me."

"What?" Before Jason could say any more, Carolina was already moving out.

"Carolina!" Michael whispered.

"If you don't show yourselves, Alliance scum, we'll gun down every civilian in here."

"Enough!" Carolina shouted as she walked in plain view of the turian.

"Well, we've got a live one. A human that thinks she's all that."

"I'm all that and more, and I could kick your ass before one of your jockeys could pull the trigger."

"You got a mouth on you!" The turian laughed as he walked towards her. "I'd love to see you use it!"

"I'd rather kiss a batarian."

"Can we arrange that?" A helmeted merc said from somewhere behind her.

"Not until I get a turn with her. I've heard most human women have such supportive waists."

"I swear to God, if she doesn't kill that turian, I will." Michael whispered, angry at the turian's obvious remarks to his plans for Carolina.

"We also have harder punches. It's most effective on your mandibles, asshole." Carolina smirked, seeing the figure sneaking up behind him.

"Oh, now I really want to see her fire, and a lot more where that came from."

Carolina gave the turian a solid hit to his left mandible, causing him to laugh hysterically.

"You've got a real fight in you. I like that."

"Then you're gonna love me." A low voice could be heard behind the turian, who turned around to find a human in armor who was about the size of him. Before he could do anything, the turian got punched harder than when he got hit by Carolina. He stumbled towards her again and received a kick within his lower reaches. Before he could do anything else, a pistol was at his head at point-blank range, killing him instantly.

"Pistol!" Maine shouted as he tossed Carolina the gun, who then jumped in the air to avoid incoming fire from the other mercs. Michael stood up and overloaded two of their shields, catching the shotgun Maine tossed him. He shot one and Maine shot the other.

"Backup! We need backup!" One merc shouted as Carolina popped up behind him and knocked him out with the grip of her gun.

"Sniper!" Maine yelled as the sniper rifle flew into Nolan's hands. Nolan unfolded it and took a shot at another merc who was closing in through another door. Maine started to push people towards the exit so they could escape, allowing his barriers to avoid fire until he had to use shield boost. He opened fire on some of the lesser-shielded mercs, dropping them like flies as they poured in. Nolan did the same thing to some of the other mercs; the sheer power of the slugs cutting throught the shields at will and killing those he aimed at. Jason, Carolina, and Michael were all providing fire support while helping the rest of the innocents leave.

"Clear!" Michael shouted when no other merc poured through the door. Walking towards Maine, he folded the shotgun. "Thanks for the gun. I was feeling a little naked without it."

Maine nodded as Carolina and Nolan also returned his guns to him. Jason held the pistol close to the merc that Carolina captured squealing for backup.

"Just one survivor. Enough to interrogate for answers."

"How do we want to play this?" Nolan asked. "Good cop, Bad cop? Threaten him with Maine tearing his arms off? Maybe Carolina promising to flash her boobs at him if he talks?"

"Screw you, North." Carolina snapped.

"Hey, I'm just saying I'd pay a thousand credits to see that. That is, of course, unless only York can see that."

Michael elbowed him in the ribs hard. "What Carolina and I do sneaking around is none of your concern."

"Let's try the east way." Jason spoke. "Maine?"

Maine nodded and picked up the merc, bringing him back to a lucid state. "What's going on?"

"You're being interrogated. My friend here doesn't have much patience, and you already know of what he can do. So I recommend you squeal and tell us everything before he becomes impatient."

The merc looked at the large man holding him up. "Shit. All right, look, we were sent out to take your company down so that Elanos Haliat would have an easier time conquering Elysium. I can't say much about his plans; I'm just a low-ranking grunt compared to the others you killed. But he has a weapon he plans to unleash on the city. It's massive."

"What is it?"

"I don't know what it is; only that it was called 'The Disruptor.' It was his main weapon on his dreadnought, the Hammer of Dawn. They planned to use it on Illyria, and they will be arriving soon."

"The Second Fleet shouldn't have a hard time holding their own."

"Unfortunately for you, I disagree. The Disruptor was said to be adjustable. It's some kind of cannon, but I don't know anything else about it, other than he'll target Alliance ships after he's hit the city."

"How'd you get into the city?" Michael asked.

"Smugglers. We hid in secret panels on a supply transport to the colony. It was a simple drive here. We were monitoring communications, and heard you were coming here. We didn't expect the, uh, girl, though."

"Best kept secret about Houston Squad; she is." Nolan smirked.

"We thought catching you off guard would be easy. Our second team was meant to bomb Athens outpost to get rid of Maine and the rest of the Alliance personnel. It should be going off right now."

Everyone became quiet, but heard no loud noise coming from outside.

"You need a detonator." Maine spoke in front of his captive. "Which I have."

"How? How did you stop the second team?"

"I had help. A friend was visiting and owed me a favor."

"Which friend?" Jason asked.

"Flowers."

"Obviously."

"What do we do with this freak now?"

"We have two choices: kill him or arrest him." Jason stated. "I vote we kill him."

"He could have more information. Let's give him to the cops. Captain Kennedy can handle him." Nolan suggested.

"Too risky." Carolina replied. "Put an end to his misery."

"I'm sorry, baby doll, but I must respectfully disagree. Nolan's right. He might still be useful."

"What do you think, Maine? You can break the tie."

Maine grabbed his pistol, making the merc scared. Then he shot him in the leg. "He'll live. For now. Grab your gear. We're headed out." Maine put the injured merc over his shoulder after knocking him out with a blow to the stomach. He lead the others to the car to grab his gear.

Michael sighed towards Carolina. "Guess we're back on the clock."

Carolina smirked at him, knowing that after this, he was going to take her somewhere nice to make up for this whole thing.


	3. Chapter 2: Blackout

Chapter 2: Blackout

SSV Brussels, 11:55 am

Within the Command Center, minutes before Skyllian Blitz

Admiral Wauters watched from the holotable the view of the mass relay in front of him. His crew was moving around, preparing the ship for the attack Wauters knew was coming. Elysium was by far the most important colony in human history, so it makes sense that it would be the target. He was impatient with his enemy's approach, however, and he feared that they wouldn't show until he gave up on waiting for them.

He smiled when the first few ships popped up. Small frigates with paint jobs of certain mercenary groups covering the hulls came in multitude, but there was nothing his men couldn't handle coming through the relay. However, when the three large dreadnoughts; one larger than the other two, appeared through the relay, Wauters was at pause. The largest of the three had a large cannon on it of unknown design. The admiral shook his head over that. If they didn't know what that cannon could do, they'd be screwed.

"Admiral, you're being hailed by one of the dreadnoughts." Marshall stated.

"Bring it up. I want to look this bastard in the eye."

The image on the table changed to that of a middle-aged man. His dark brown hair was graying, and his beard was fashioned into a goatee. His brown eyes were static, and a large scar hovered over his left eyebrow; a grim reminder of the First Contact War.

_"Thomas, it's been far too long. How long has it been since we last met? I'm afraid that being absorbed in my experiments I seem to have lost track of time."_

"Liberation of Shanxi. Nineteen years ago, when Admiral Kastanie Drescher lead the fleet to reclaim the colony. You know, I'm disappointed in you, friend. I never thought your discharge could push you to something as irrational as what you're about to perform."

_"The Alliance dishonorably discharged me on the case of my ideas on technology we could've used to combat the turian threat. Now, I am the Mastermind of this operation, and Elanos Haliat will get the glory of leading the entire mercenary army to sack the largest human colony in the traverse."_

"You're insane."

_"Perhaps. But the facts state that my victory is secure. I hold a powerful card in this poker game; the ace in the hole. On the center dreadnought; the Hammer of Dawn, you will notice the large cannon attached to it. Behold the Disruptor; a weapon of unimaginable power. Add to that an army of many vessels, and we outnumber your forces three-to-one."_

"Then it is an even fight." Wauters smiled. "It'd be better if you end this suicide invasion plan now. Because of our friendship, I'll even give you the option of turning around and going without a fight."

_"Haliat wouldn't stand for that. I'm sorry, but I reject your proposal. Now you will witness the power of the Disruptor. Fire at will, Commander."_

SSV Berlin, 11:57 am

Next to the Migrant Fleet

Admiral Parker stared at the two men and the krogan that were with him in his comm center. He had a sense of unease at the sight of them. They were pirate defectors; one being the nephew of a man who plans to attack a colony in the traverse. He had no idea if he could trust them at all.

The krogan just scared him by being so big.

"All right. Talk. What information do you have."

"First, you must know that we can't say everything, but we can say everything you need to know about why this attack is so important." Darsan spoke.

"What do you mean 'Can't say everything?'"

Bardone looked at him. "It means we're only telling you about the Disruptor. It's the only thing they're really using in the fight. There's just other projects even my uncle couldn't build because he admitted they were impossible."

"And why wouldn't you tell us about those?"

"Because despite what the Alliance said about him, he's still an honourable man. If you were to capture him, he'd surrender. Then you could take all of his secret projects. It's not our place to speak of them."

"That explains the pardon for him. What about the instatement into the Alliance? Why is that part of the deal?"

"Anything is better than being a merc," Darsan continued. "and our skills could be useful to your spec ops groups."

"If your information is good, we'll work it out. For now, show us what the Disruptor is."

"Gladly." Bardone stood up and summoned his omni-tool. On the screen in the room, a schematic for the Disruptor appeared, revealing the nature and design of the devastating weapon. "The Disruptor is an electro-magnetic pulse cannon. It has the power to disable a ship or a city's power grid with one burst. Fortunately, it only affects high-powered energy sources, so guns and omni-tools won't be affected."

"But radios and defense cannons could be affected."

"Yes. You'd need to find an alternate power source to power them after a city gets hit."

"What about a ship?"

"If another vessel isn't attacking a disabled ship, they could likely reroute their power systems in a matter of minutes, since the Disruptor takes time to charge. But since a fleet assists the Disruptor, your crews better be prepared to jump ship or jump start faster than the devil himself."

"Maker help us all." Parker muttered. "What are the Disruptor's weaknesses?"

"The weapon has a 2.14 minute recharge time, and it uses the power of the shielding to fire the weapon. It takes twenty-seven seconds to recharge the shields around the Disruptor, but a small ship like the F-51 Trident could hit the venting chamber under the weapon itself. Take the weapon out, and the rest of the ship goes with it."

"Wouldn't that mean your uncle dies?"

"My uncle is on a second flagship from the Hammer of Dawn; the Aegis Fate. It's one of dreadnoughts that provide fire support for the Disruptor. When the Dawn falls, so does their plan of attack. They know that without it, their army will be decimated."

"They'll likely attempt to retreat when that happens." Darsan added. "We'll have to find some way to block off their escape."

Wrex stood up. "You could ask for assistance from the quarian Migrant Fleet. They may be willing to offer you aid in exchange for resources. Their ships need constant repair after all."

"Very well. We need to try and contact Admiral Wauters before the colony is attacked." _And pray to God we aren't too late._

Illyria Police Department, 12:00 pm

Captain Kennedy walked to greet the members of Houston Squad at the front entrance of his headquarters. All five of them were dressed in their armor and armed to the teeth, which meant they got the same memo that he got. Slumped on the largest one's shoulders was an unconscious merc in the Blue Suns uniform. In that man's other hand was a case of some kind.

"Houston Squad, I'm Captain Kennedy. I've been asked by the Admiral of the Second Fleet to transfer control of Illyria's police forces to you. The invasion force is apparently already pouring through the mass relay, so my men are dressing in their armor to prepare for the worst."

"Pleasure to meet you, Captain Kennedy." The woman spoke. "I'm Carolina. The others are York, North, Wash, and Maine."

"Those sound like states."

"It's a random coincidence with our names. Maine has a captured merc that has some information. We determine; or perhaps, most of us determine he may have more information. We'll give him to your boys for interrogation."

"Very well. Our boys will take him to an interrogation cell. I'll give you a briefing on the layout of our forces around Illyria."

"Go ahead." One of the soldiers in black and gold armor spoke. "We already know the hornet's nest was kicked. People are starting to become scared. They'll need to know your men are still there to protect them."

"We're setting up patrols around the edges of Illyria and along the most populated areas of the city. They're all armed with rifles, but we have rocket troopers stationed alongside the defense towers; two high-powered GARDIAN laser cannons at each lateral degree of the city. At least one group of towers would be enough to hold off an aerial attack. If a bunch of pirates believe that they can take this city by brute force, they're about to find out they're wrong."

"Sounds like this will be easy then." The soldier in light assassin armor spoke. "I'm just curious as to why Maine has a case."

Maine merely looked at his comrade as the merc was taken by two officers.

"Reports are coming in stating that the invasion force has brought itself to face the Second Fleet in orbit. There will be multiple gunships raining down on us, but we can handle the ground war. That's what you guys are here for."

"I'll need a location with an excellent sniping position within the city." One in purple armor spoke. "I've got a reputation of sniping the head off of a pirate from far distances. Any location that could hold off the threat of a ground war would be preferable."

"We have several large towers that approach the border of the city that could be acceptable for your skills, Mister..."

"Call me North. The one in black is Wash, the one in assassin armor is York, and Maine's the big guy."

"Good to know. I was having trouble wrapping my head around your names." Kennedy then summoned his omni-tool and showed a map of Illyria. "Our large patrols are along the outer part of the city. The outer boundary has a system that can raise an eight-foot wall as a defense against the common M-29 Grizzly. Within the inner part of the city, we have a large guard force protecting the town hall building, as well as the treasury and the embassy building."

"What's the status of the GARDIAN lasers?" Carolina asked.

"The northern tower is undergoing maintenance due to a power fluctuation. As long as any ground attacks that comes doesn't come from the north, and if the rest of the towers can hold their own against the aircraft, we should be good."

Kennedy's radio started going off after he finished his presentation. _"Redfield to Kennedy, come in!"_

"This is Kennedy. What's going on?"

_"Some strange projectile is coming from one of the ships from orbit. It's headed for the center of the city! It looks like a-"_

Suddenly, the power went out.

"What the hell was that?" York asked.

"Redfield, come in! Do you read?" He removed his hand from the earpiece. "Damn it! Radios are down."

"So is the power." Wash examined. "Looks like we were hit by an EMP."

Carolina pulled out her pistol. "Our weapon are still working."

"Omni-tools, too." York smiled as he activated it. "We can communicate via omni-tool."

"Yeah, but now we have a problem. If the entire power grid is out, that means that our GARDIAN lasers are out and we can't raise the wall. Illyria will be defenseless."

"Not yet." Maine finally spoke. He placed down the case he carried, opening it to reveal eight square objects.

York bent down and examined the objects. "Fission batteries? What are we supposed to do with these?"

"Power the tower."

"You mean you want to hook this up to a GARDIAN laser cannon to make it work?"

"Not just the cannon. The wall. The gunships. The Grizzly. The mainframe. Eight batteries. Eight things to power."

"It's possible." Wash agreed. "We hook these things up and we can have a reasonable amount of firepower to hold our own against a ground raid. Which tower do you want to power up?"

Maine pointed southeast.

"The southeast tower isn't the most defensible." Kennedy argued.

"Trust me. If Maine says to repower the southeast tower, you'd better do it. He has a way of knowing what to do."

"If you say so."

"We should get the gunships powered up first. That'll make travel easier." North stated.

"We've gotta do a two-hour job in twenty minutes." Carolina looked at Maine. "Any chance your pal Flowers is still in the area?"

"More than a chance." A new voice spoke behind them. The group turned around to see three armored mercenaries; two in blue and one in white, standing behind them. "Butch Flowers, at your service."

"Mercenaries?" Kennedy asked.

"Friends." Maine spoke as he walked forward to shake his friend's hand.

"We got a tip from Maine three days ago that he had a hunch Elysium was open for attack. Since his intuition saved us from a pirate attack as we were delivering cargo to Illium, we owed him a favor, so we came here with everything he asked for."

"We grabbed all the guns out of the armory of Athens base so we offer them to any able-bodied citizen willing to offer help." A British voice spoke behind the white merc's helmet. "We've gotta have a few turians in this city willing to lend a hand."

"Lucius Fox, you son of a bitch." York commented excitedly. "It's been a long time! How've you been?"

"My callsign is Wyoming. I've been keeping my skills sharp behind the scope. You have no idea how many people want elcor dead."

"The other of the group is our newbie. We're currently just calling him Colorado." Flowers stated. "He's a young biotic prodigy."

"He could provide cover for those repairing the gate or the tower, if he could make an effective barrier for us."

"I can." Colorado responded behind the recon hood he wore.

"Lucius and Nolan could team up and watch from the towers with their long rifles and provide cover for the impending invasion force." Carolina suggested.

"Agreed." Lucius nodded. "It'll be good to have some competition for a change."

"Bring it on, British pansy." North challenged.

"York will attempt to power the GARDIAN lasers while Flowers and Colorado get the wall working. Wash and I will work on rounding up any citizen willing to help defend the city. Maine, you and Kennedy will round up the police forces of the city to provide the first line of defense."

"Yes, ma'am." Maine approved.

"I'll have one of my men work on getting the mainframe up while we work on getting the vehicles running." Kennedy added. "We'll send a general warning via omni-tool to all citizens to either converge at the town hall for protection or the police station to arm themselves for attack."

"We've all got our assignments." Wash concluded. "Let's move out."


	4. Chapter 3: Assault

Chapter 3: Assault

SSV Brussels, Twenty minutes after Illyria's power grid was knocked out.

Admiral Wauters was struggling to figure out how to stop the Hammer of Dawn's weapon from disabling the entire fleet. Minutes after he lost contact with Illyria, the Disruptor targeted the SSV Memphis. Had it not been for the launch of the escape pods, many more lives would've been lost because of it. They were still dropping merc transports with their high-powered cannons, but the Disruptor would always end up trying to target another ship every two or three minutes, leading to either a paralyzed ship or a clumsy evasive maneuver.

"Admiral, we're getting hailed by the SSV Berlin and a ship named the Tonbay." Marshall spoke up.

"Patch them in. They may have the information we need."

On the admiral's holotable, the figure of Admiral Parker and a quarian he did not recognize yet appeared.

_"Admiral," _Admiral Parker nodded. _"this is Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay of the Patrol Fleet. She has agreed to offer any assistance the Alliance will need to protect Elysium."_

"A pleasure to meet you, Admiral."

_"Likewise, Admiral Wauters." _Shala nodded.

"While I'll take any help I can get in protecting Elysium, I do not wish to risk your people's lives while the Disruptor is still operational. The survival of your species depends on your ships, you know." He turned towards Admiral Parker. "Did your interrogation turn up anything useful?"

Parker nodded. _"Yes. Bardone's nephew handed over schematics of the Disruptor and the Hammer of Dawn."_

"Bardone's nephew?"

A new hologram appeared. _"That is correct. A pleasure to meet you, Admiral Wauters."_

Wauters shrugged his shoulders. "Likewise, I guess. What can you tell me about the Disruptor?"

_"You already know it is basically an electromagnetic pulse cannon that knocks out power grids of cities and ships. But there is a weak spot on it. Underneath the firing chamber, there is an unarmored part of the weapon that if disabled by an F-51 Trident could send the weapon into a critical meltdown mode. This would in turn disable the ship so the Second Fleet could bring the ship down."_

Shala nodded. _"And then the Patrol Fleet and the Berlin could slip through the relay, trapping the pirate fleet from escape."_

"It still sounds risky, but anything is worth a shot." Wauters agreed. "Admirals, hold position until the Disruptor is down. Marshall, send out a message to all ships ordering the immediate departure of all F-51 Tridents to go after the weak point of the Disruptor. Once the Achilles' heel has been struck we will bring the wrath of the Gods upon the Hammer of Dawn and break the tool the Mastermind has used to craft this attack."

_"May your ancestors smile upon you, Admiral." _Shala winked.

Wauters caught that and smiled. "May your ancestors smile upon you as well, Raan."

Elysium's surface, the southeast part of Illyria

"The wall is rising up. The borders of Illyria will be well defended." Butch spoke as he stood up from crouching. The large metal wall stopped two feet above him. Platforms raised themselves to allow the civilians to stand on them.

"And not a moment too soon." Colorado dropped the barrier as he spoke. "There are already ships that are pouring through and dropping off mercs. We're about to have a wild ride."

Butch nodded. "Michael, how's the cannon coming?"

_"Just a few seconds more." _The cannon then sprung to life, humming its diagnostics tuning. _"Cannon's operational. I'm going to pick some guys out of the sky."_

"Lucius, Nolan, you guys all set?"

_"Just dandy." _A British voice was heard on the radio. _"North took longer setting up but we're all set."_

_"I climbed a couple flights of stairs!" _Nolan yelled on the omni-radio. _"You just had your gunship drop you off, you cheater."_

_"Boo-hoo, Nolan boy. You can complain when we're at the pub celebrating."_

"And it looks like the calvary is here." Butch said as he saw a large group of civilians armed with weapons walking towards the wall, prepared to defend their home. Wash and Carolina were at the front of the crowd; Carolina holding two pistols and Wash his assault rifle. To Butch's left, Maine and the police and military forces of the planet walked with weapons in hand. Maine's grenade belt was filled with incendiary grenades; his favorite weapon in this galaxy so far.

"Okay, Flowers." Kennedy said. "My men have gathered together with the exception of a small protection force for the civilians. It looks like Wash has gathered many able-bodied civilians; even the aliens."

"It was easy." Jason bragged. "I just convinced them that it's better to fight to protect the city than cower and hide like our mayor."

"What Jason means is that we said we needed those who knew how to use a gun and have a reason to defend their home." Carolina interrupted.

"That's what I said."

Kennedy shook his head. "Get everyone in formation. My men will align with the right side. The civilians will take the left."

"Places, everyone!" Butch clapped. "We've got maybe thirty seconds before they open those floodgates and let their men out."

Everyone gathered atop of the raised platform, pointing their weapons at the outside where the mercs began to show themselves. Blue Suns, Eclipse, Blood Pack, Talons, and more that Maine had never seen or heard of. One krogan in blood-red armor raised a giant hammer to order his forces to charge. Maine brought his rifle up to prepare the forces gathered to fire. As time moved, seconds seemed to move faster rather than slower.

Then the hammer fell.

The mercenary armies charged straight towards the city walls. Ships filled with more troops began to converge upon the southeast end of the city. That's when Michael fired the first shot. The GARDIAN lasers tore through a small frigate preparing to fire upon the tall buildings of the city. The charging forces stalled at the sight of one of their transports being destroyed.

"The tower is still operational!" The krogan with the hammer yelled. "That should be impossible! The entire city is without power!"

Maine stood up upon his position, followed by Wash and Carolina. He nodded at Wash, and the man began to speak.

"Observe, citizens of Illyria! These mercenaries thought they had the upper hand when their weapon of mass destruction took away your power! But this man" he pointed at Maine, "gave us the power to defy their weapon! Just one GARDIAN laser took down a cruiser and stopped their army dead in their tracks! What does that say about these cowards?! They think we're helpless! They're wrong! They started this war, and I swear to God, it will be us who finishes it! For Illyria!"

The citizens cheered and began to fire their weapons upon the stunned mercs. When they were free from their shock, they began their charge again, firing their weapons back. The biotics of the city began putting up protective barriers over their companions, shaking off their enemy's slugs and rounds. The mercs began to drop quickly by the sheer firepower of the colonists.

From afar, the krogan warlord walked back towards his subordinates at the frigate on the ground. "Patch in Elanos right now! I've to make a progress report."

Back in space, Bardone looked out at the view of the battle aboard his dreadnought. The casualties on both fleets was bound to be high from the beginning, but so far, the odds were in his favor. The Disruptor was making short work of the Alliance fleet, but for every Alliance ship lost, there was always two of his ships destroyed. This was the outcome he had forseen, but the reality hadn't hit him hard enough to retreat.

"Sir, I've got a priority one hail from Warlord Grezzyl and Elanos Haliat on the comm." His assistant spoke.

"Patch them in." He turned to face his holotable where the two men could be seen. Neither of them had looks of victory on their face.

_"The plan has been compromised, Bardone."_ Elanos spoke angrily.

"Elaborate."

_"Our forces on the ground are getting hammered." _Grezzyl spoke. _"They have a defensive wall set up and their citizens have all gathered to defend it. The GARDIAN lasers along the southeast wall are active and shot down half of our reinforcements in a matter of minutes."_

"Are you serious?"

_"It also appears the mercenaries we smuggled into the city failed. I saw Houston Squad's elite member Maine poke his head out before we began our attack."_

_"There is also the matter of your nephew not being onboard the Hammer of Dawn."_ Elanos interrupted. _"Neither he nor his friend are where they are supposed to be. Their guards were found in the mess hall dead."_

Bardone began to pace, putting together the pieces of the puzzle. "Maine was a puzzlebox; Grezzyl found that out when he attacked the Atlanta. He was two steps ahead of him, and it seems he was two steps ahead of us now. As for Brodius, it is obvious he has betrayed us as well. We must now protect the Disruptor at all costs. If the Alliance destroys it, we will have no chance to defeat the Alliance forces. Why else do you think we asked the hegemony for help. They're just cannon fodder, blind to the true purpose of this attack."

_"And what is the true purpose of this attack?" _Grezzyl growled.

"Elanos says it is to drive the Alliance out of the verge, but the truth is that I am after something of greater value than the city."

_"Which is?"_

Bardone activated his omni-tool. "A tablet. A relic of a lost species even more advanced than the Protheans. I intercepted a transmission months ago from a Calypso operative that an artifact was on the planet being dug up. It was hidden five miles underneath the city. This tablet is meant to tell of the location of something known as 'Potestatem.' I believe this 'Potestatem' is a power source that could grant us infinite power over the entire galaxy. The Disruptor was only the beginning."

_"What exactly could this energy source do for us?"_

"Imagine it: the power to take out power grids, defense systems, ships, space stations, or even the Citadel itself. The possibilities are endless."

_"Then why are you saying we need to protect the Disruptor?"_

"Like I said, it's just the beginning. It's an effective prototype, but it hasn't truly reached its full potential where it could knock every civilization in the traverse back to the Stone Age. And the Hammer of Dawn, while fortified, is not invincible. Nothing lasts forever."

_"So what shall we do to ensure the plan succeeds?"_

"We'll do our part up here. Send out the tanks down below. A few M-29 Grizzlies should scare the colonists back so your forces may breach them. And Grezzyl, I know how much you want revenge against Maine. Feel free to satisfy yourself by killing him."

_"It will be a pleasure, sir." _The massive krogan bowed before his hologram disappeared.

_"You do realize that your nephew may have cost us everything, Bardone!" _Elanos stated furiously.

"That is not your concern, Haliat. You'll get the credit for all of this once we succeed. That should be all that matters."

_"And I will also be the one who takes the blame when it fails! Don't let that happen, or I swear, I will destroy you!"_

"You can try." Bardone shut the hologram off, turned around, and continued to watch the battle. "Wauters, my old friend. Your resistance is futile."

Back on the ground, Maine made every shot count before his thermal chamber had to be vented. Switching to his sidearm, he held back waves of batarians with acurate timing with his shots. Around him, shrieks of people getting hit by slugs could be heard everywhere, but he ignored it all to focus on the main objective: protect the city, then mourn the dead when they were safe. If he listened to them die, he might go mad. He couldn't go mad.

Not yet.

Up on the roof tops, Nolan was plucking off many enemies, happy that he got an improved heat sink. One by one, an enemy would fall. A batarian, two turians, a krogan whose head couldn't protect him from his powerful sniper slug.

_"Knock knock."_ Lucius's voice could be heard on his omni-radio.

"Who's there?"

_"Oh, my."_

"Oh, my who?"

_"Oh, my. It looks like my kill count is higher than yours."_

"My ass, it is. I've got seventeen kills!"

A sniper rifle shot could be heard on Lucius's side. _"Nineteen."_

"Son of a-" He aimed and scoped down another enemy, hoping to take the lead before they ran out of targets.

Michael took out the last ship attempting to drop off reinforcements, but now he was stuck wondering why the ships had stopped coming. That was strange, considering that the last twenty-one ships he shot down were always presistant.

"Hey, guys, you don't think they ran out of ships, do you?"

_"That doesn't sound likely, York, given that there are still ships in orbit." _Jason's voice could be heard on his omni-radio. _"Perhaps the Fleet is holding them back."_

"I hope so. The heat-to-fusion systems were getting close to overheating."

_"I hear tha-" _Jason stopped. _"Wait! There are five M-29s coming on the field! Take cover!" _An explosion could be heard on the frequency.

"Wash?! Are you alive?"

_"Yeah. But there's a hole in the wall, and a few dead cops now. It looks like Kennedy and Redfield got away, but the others..."_

"Focus on protecting the city. We'll worry about the dead later."

_"Hey guys, it's Butch." _Another voice on the radio spoke. _"I'm going to attempt to thin out those tanks. Keep an eye out. There are a few merc gunships flying around the city. Mine's the one with the obvious flower logo on it."_

_"I say, chap," _Lucius interrupted. _"are we ever going to get rid of that?"_

_"Would you rather have a Boca Rata logo?"_

_"Point taken."_

_"Ha!" _Nolan's voice boomed. _"I've got twenty-five now! Take that Wyoming!"_

_"Oh, piss. Gotta go! This mutt needs to be put in his place."_

"Stay safe out there, guys. I'll watch the skies."

_"And I'll watch my ass." _Butch ended.

Onboard the SSV Agincourt, Pressley walked anxiously to the cargo bay where a lone F-51 Trident was hovering above the ground. The pilot, dressed in black, was already masked and prepared to depart for the Hammer of Dawn. Pressley waved him over, to which he reluctantly walked over to him.

"Starr, I just wanted to wish you good luck quickly before you left." Pressley patted him on the shoulder. "We're all counting on you. That Disruptor thing will certainly affect the Fleet if we don't stop it. Make us proud."

"Come on." Starr raised his elbows in a cocky manner. "When has the great Shanghai ever failed a ground or space mission he's ever been on?"

Pressley laughed. "True enough."

"Don't worry, Pressley. When this is all over, we'll go out and celebrate with a quick drink. Your treat." Starr hopped in his fighter.

"Yes." Pressley shook his head at the realization. "My treat." And he waved good-bye as his pupil departed.

Jason watched from his position as Butch's gunship eliminated the tank closest to him, but he ducked when a shard of the tank almost collided with his face. The battle had become chaotic over a small period of time. Hundreds on both sides layed dead or injured on the ground. But thank God that the casualties were the heaviest for the mercs. An asari lay applying medigel to a turian whose arm had been shot by a rogue bullet. Kennedy and Redfield were directing their men to a building where there would be more cover from the tanks. Mercs lay dead outside the city; their blood soaking into the ground.

"Carolina, their forces are becoming less and less." Jason observed. "Maybe we can take the offensive on them and try to remove those tanks on foot."

"That's a bit insane, Wash." Carolina disagreed.

"But possible." Maine growled. He pulled out three stick-like charges.

"Are those what I think those are?"

Jason smiled behind his helmet. "Maine, you overdo the boy scout motto, you know that?"

Maine shrugged.

"All right." Jason pointed to two civilians; a human and a turian, and waved for them to come over. "Okay, we have a plan to take those tanks out, but it's risky. I need to know you guys understand this one-hundred percent clearly. Got it?"

"Got it." The turian nodded.

"Uh, sure." The human said shyly.

"Okay. We've only got one shot at this. We have three powerful hand-tossed detonation charges that can disable or destroy those tanks. Turian, I want you to go with Carolina and make sure that she can toss that thing at the tank on the left. Maine, you take the center."

"I'll go with him." The asari that was applying medigel to the other turian said. "My friend has been medicated, but he won't be able to run out into the field."

Jason looked at her friend. "Can you still hold your gun?"

The turian raised his sniper rifle, grunting over the pain of his injuries. "I'll do my best."

"Then stay here and provide limited covering fire. And whoever you are, bub, you're coming with me towards the last tank."

"Okay." The human said.

"On my mark." Jason lifted three of his fingers before he dropped one by one. "Mark!"

The six of them split up to head to their positions. Jason's tank was closer to the city, so he had a little more cover than the others. He stopped at the perfect position to throw it; a part of the wall torn with a perfect vantage point of the tank. He attempted to pull the pin and throw it, but assault rifle fire stopped him before he could raise his arm over the wall.

"Fuck!" He swore. "Here." He gave the grenade to the human. "Toss the grenade at the tank! I've got the guards."

The human grabbed it nervously, staring at it as Jason took out a batarian near the tank.

"What the hell are you waiting for?!" Jason yelled at him. "Toss that grenade!"

The man pressed the pin and released it, tossing the grenade up... and bouncing back to their position.

Jason looked at the man angrily. "That was the worst throw ever. Of all time."

"Not my fault." The man raised his hands. "Someone put a wall in my way."

"Run!" Jason ran one way to avoid the explosion and the man ran the other way. All three grenades went off at the same time, but only two destroyed the tanks.

_"Wash, what the hell happened?! There was an explosion in your area and your tank is still intact!" _Carolina's voice boomed.

"The genius over here bounced our grenade off a wall!"

_"Great. Now what?"_

"See if Maine has any more bright ideas."

_"Can't do that right now. Just seconds after his tank went boom, that krogan with the hammer came and charged at him. He's a little busy right now. I'm going to help him. Just distract that tank for a bit."_

"Wonderful." Jason hissed. He looked at the tank, noting how the last of the mercs were converging on its position.

_Just fucking great. _He thought to himself as he devised a distraction plan.

In the sky, Butch was chasing after two Eclipse gunships that were trying to shake him. He was careful as to not hit the buildings with his cannons. After all, he didn't want to have to end up paying for the damages. He timed his shot carefully, blowing out the stabilizer of one gunship. It dropped to the ground below. The second one, however, changed course, heading back towards the southeast part of the city.

That's when Butch figured out what was going on.

Rushing his gunship to quickly intercept his target, he came out to the open sky to see the other gunship heading straight for the GARDIAN tower.

_At. Full. Speed._

"York, you need to get out of there! There's a suicide gunship headed your way!"

_"What? Oh, son of a-"_

The gunship crashed into the tower, causing a great explosion that could be seen from the edge of the battlefield. Everyone stopped what they were doing when they saw it. Carolina's jaw dropped as she witnessed the fires descend.

"York!" She yelled on her omni-radio. "York, are you there?! York!"

A cough could be heard on the radio. _"I'm alive... I think. My face feels a little funny, but my shields took the brunt of the explosion. I'm applying medigel just in case."_

"I'm coming to get you."

_"No, baby. You need to help Maine like you were going to. I'll find my way out of here. Don't worry."_

_"This is Colorado." _Another voice spoke. _"I'm closer to the tower. I'll go in and see if I can help him out of there."_

_"By all means. It's a little dark in here, and my right eye feels a little fuzzy."_ Michael squealed. _"I got medigel in my eye. I don't know if that's a good thing."_

"Just stay calm. Help's coming." Carolina continued her rush towards Maine, who had resumed his fight with the krogan shortly after the fireworks.

From Carolina's viewpoint, it looked as if Maine was holding his own. The krogan continued to swing his massive hammer, but Maine dodged each swing and punched his enemy ruthlessly in the face. Carolina jumped in, kicking the krogan square in the chest when he failed to protect himself after Maine's last punch. But the krogan readjusted himself quickly and forced Carolina on the defense. She ducked every hammer swing until she grasped the giant object with her own hands, successfully yanking it free from his grip after Maine's fist collided with the krogan's stomach.

The krogan finally roared and attempted to charge her, until the asari's biotics threw him back. They smiled at each other before the asari shrieked at the bullet that grazed her arm. Carolina aimed her pistol at the attacker and pulled the trigger, never realizing that another gunman drew his gun and aimed for her face.

She stood paralyzed when she heard the shot.

She turned around and saw Maine grasping his throat; the gunman dead on the ground. Blood seeped from his hand at an alarming rate.

"NO!" Carolina screamed as she caught the big brute before he collapsed. Taking out a packet of medigel, she applied it to his throat. The medigel did its thing, and Maine stopped coughing. She looked at him and then back to the krogan, who was finally getting back up.

The hammer was right next to her.

Shanghai dodged every mortar that got in his way as he headed straight for the Disruptor. His Trident kept pulling off spins that avoided his attackers' futile attempts to shoot him down. He was the best damn pilot in his division, and he wasn't going to go down by a bigger ship.

"This is Shanghai to the SSV Brussels. The Disruptor's weak point is visible on my board. Requesting covering fire towards the frigate attempting to block me off."

_"Covering fire granted." _Admiral Wauters's voice spoke on the radio. _"Standby." _The vessel in front of Shanghai's path was torn in half by the Brussels's cannons; specially designed Hades cannons created by Calypso.

Something he knew too well.

_"You are all clear to fire upon the Disruptor now. Good luck."_

"Roger that." Shanghai smiled behind his helmet. His course no longer hindered, he pushed the throttle to full speed to run straight at the panel, preparing his trigger finger for the finale.

Back on the ground, Maine slowly lifted himself up out of his dazed state. The medigel had saved him, but there was a voice he could hear telling him to get up. It was a female's voice, but it wasn't Carolina's and it wasn't the asari. Was the voice coming from inside his head? There was a bright light of sorts in front of him that he thought at first was Elysium's sun, but then he could tell it wasn't when in its place was a woman dressed in white.

_"You need to get up, Maine." _The woman spoke. _"Your destiny is stopping this attack, and later, you will stop something even greater when you reach your apex. Get up, and do what you must."_ The woman faded from his vision as he hoisted himself up with the support of the hammer. Carolina was alongside him, watching as he brought himself to a standing position. The krogan was battle-ready, a shotgun in his hands and a snarl gathering between his lips.

Looking at Carolina, he cocked his head, signalling she was to leave him alone in this fight. Listening to his body language, she stepped back. Pulling an incendiary grenade off of his belt, he raised the hammer up so his right hand had a firm grip on it.

"Come on!" The krogan yelled in front of him. "Let's go, you Alliance bastard!"

Maine growled his response with a growl so fierce Carolina was sure that Maine was a wolf ready to pounce on his next meal. He pulled one foot back before they charged at each other. The krogan shot a carnage attack at him, but he moved quickly around it. He leaped in the air and brought the krogan's hammer down onto his head. The cracking of the krogan's skull plate could be heard from where Carolina stood. The krogan fell limp, his breaths ragged as blood seeped through the cracks and from his mouth.

"Come on..." The krogan spoke hoarsely. He attempted to pick himself up, but to no avail. Maine activated the incendiary grenade and shoved it into the krogan's mouth. The brute began to choke on the device, but finally caught fire and exploded as Maine walked back towards Carolina, his static look revealing all too well he felt no remorse for his fallen rival.

"Maine," Carolina spoke. "that was incredible. I never thought anyone could take down a krogan like that."

Maine shrugged and growled, signifying it was all in a day's work.

"We should probably consider getting a V.I. to talk for you now if you're going to keep communicating that way."

Maine extended his arm towards the final tank, which wouldn't stop firing at Wash's position.

"Right. We need to go save Wash. Again." Carolina shook her head, and they ran towards Wash's tank.

Shanghai pulled the trigger upon the open hull breach of the Disruptor where it vented the attack towards the Brussels itself. After the frigate in front of Shanghai was destroyed, the Disruptor targeted Admiral Wauters's ship, but missed thanks to the quick manuevering of its helmsman. Now the weapon was venting its heat sink and was unshielded. And Shanghai had his chance to stop the machine right now.

The cannons of his Trident tore through the heat sink and disrupted the Disruptor. As he passed by, the weapon began to explode, tearing a hole in the bottom of the ship where the Disruptor once was.

"Shanghai to all Alliance ships, the Hammer has been struck. You are all clear to engage."

_"This is Admiral Thomas Wauters. We are in your debt."_

"Just doing my job, Admiral."

_"All ships, target the Hammer of Dawn. Nothing else matters. Fire everything we've got at the dreadnought!"_

Bardone looked at the window, emotionless on the outside but shocked on the inside. Of all of the Tridents they had shot out of the sky, one lucky pilot got through and disabled the weapon. Now their entire plan was truly falling apart. There was no way they would get ahold of Potestatem.

"Sir, the Hammer of Dawn has lost control of all of their systems and they are taking heavy casualties. Elanos is taking his ship towards the mass relay, and there's a call on the line for you."

"From who?" Bardone kept his face emotionless.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Bardone turned around and accepted the call on his holotable. The hologram of a man in black appeared. The mask he wore revealed his blue eyes very strangely.

_"Bardone, you had to have known Calypso would figure out that you intercepted our message. Unfortunately, you are too late. We took the artifact two days ago. Your efforts to aquire Potestatem have been in vain. You can't possibly understand what is at stake."_

"I take it you are The Stranger. Just what is it I do not understand?"

_"The galaxy is soon to plunge into war. Not a war of pirates and soldiers, but of preservation of the self-being vs the harvesting of all life. Surrender the fight now, and Calypso may be able to help you use your talents to prepare the galaxy for the inevitable."_

"And I'm supposed to expect you'd offer me forgiveness so quickly?"

_"I'm offering you a second chance. I offer no forgiveness to anyone; not even myself."_

Bardone shook is head over this man's words. What kind of man was The Stranger?

_"Perhaps the radio chatter coming in will change your mind."_

All of a sudden, the radio chatter coming from the other ships came in. It could be heard across his entire ship.

_'The Hammer of Dawn is destroyed. The fleet is retreating. Admiral Raan, you are clear to proceed. These pirates have no other choice but to either surrender or die.'_

_'This is Admiral Raan. The Patrol Fleet is entering the system. The pirates have nowhere else to go.'_

Bardone looked out his window to see an Alliance cruiser pull out of the mass relay, followed by the quarian ships of the mass relay. They had their guns pointed at the retreating ships; one-eighth of the fleet remained from their attack.

_'This is Admiral Wauters to all pirate ships: you have lost. Surrender peacefully, and you will not be harmed.'_

Bardone shook his head again, defeat finally marking his face. How could such a plan fall apart so quickly?

_"You know what you have to do." _The Stranger said as his hologram disappeared, leaving Bardone alone to ponder on his decision.

On the ground, Maine, Carolina, and the asari ran to the tank, surrounded by the last of the pirates. Wash was firing at the pirates while attempting to avoid the tank. He was winning, but the tank was giving his cover a beating.

"What should we do?" Carolina asked.

The asari looked at the hammer they had. "That hammer looks like it could absorb biotic power to amplify its damage. I could transfer some of my biotic energy into the hammer, and one of you could smash the tank. With enough force, it could be destroyed with a biotic or tech explosion."

Maine pulled his grenade belt off and handed it to Carolina. The look in his eyes gave everything away.

"I got it." She took the grenade belt from him and was prepared to activate the rest of the grenades. Maine held the hammer out to the asari, who then placed an orb of biotic energy within the claw part of the hammer. He nodded to her and ordered the charge.

Carolina ran as fast as her legs could take her as she shot every merc that stood in her way. The armor-piercing rounds on her gun tore through the batarians' armor and brought the tank's attention to her actions rather than Wash. She jumped up and let the grenade belt fall onto the tank, igniting the top of the tank in flames.

Maine charged with the hammer in tow at the tank. With Carolina out of the blast zone and the tank attempting to back away, they did not see as Maine brought the hammer to collide with the flames of the tank. The sheer force detonated the tank, turning it into an inferno of scrap metal. By either luck or precision, Maine was able to dodge the explosion. He smiled over his victory. It had all gone according to plan.

Just as she said it would.

"We did it." The asari spoke as she aproached them. "We saved Illyria."

"But at what cost?" Carolina asked as she walked around the tank with Wash behind him.

"So many people died defending the city, and many more died attacking." Jason stated.

"Not only that," Michael spoke as he approached; Colorado supporting him with his shoulder. "but many people really got hurt in this fight. Like me."

"York!" Carolina ran up to Michael and hugged him gently, hoping not to hurt him any more than he was. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

"I'll try not to, baby." He whispered. He let her go, and she reached her fingers to look at the right side of his face. It had been burned, and his eye looked like it was blinded, but the medigel was helping.

"How does it feel?" She asked as she traced her fingertips along the medigel coating.

"A lot better now that I'm with you." He smiled for her.

"So is it official now?" Nolan yelled as he approched with Butch and Lucius. "Because it is now official that Lucius and I tied our scores with a forty-two."

"I wonder how that happened, Nolan boy." Lucius spoke. "Perhaps you cheated when I wasn't looking." He tweaked his moustache; long and black that made him look like a sheriff from the old western movies.

"Nolan isn't one for cheating." Butch elaborated. "You just don't like it when someone shows they are your equal or even better than you."

"That's not true."

"Remember the drinking contest on Noveria during our break?"

"Hey, there was no way that salarian could hold so much liquor. He was obviously cheating."

"Uh-huh." Butch rolled his eyes. "Come on. Let's gather the survivors and help the wounded. There's going to be plenty to do."

Out in space, Bardone finally connected the channel to the remaining ships of the fleet as the Patrol and Second Fleet cut off all ways of escape. He had been defeated, and the only honourable thing to do was give up.

"All ships, this is the Mastermind. Stand down. It's finished." He sighed. "We're finished." He cut off the link and set up another one to Admiral Wauters's ship. "If it is any consolation, old friend, I'll take that offer of surrender. I hereby hand over myself and the lives of those that remain into your custody."

Wauters smiled on his end. "I accept your request for surrender. Be advised, the Brussels will be latching onto your ship so we may board and negotiate a cease-fire. No more blood shall be spilt today. Wauters out." He cut the connection and walked to his pilot's chair.

"So, we did it?" She asked.

"Yes, Rachel." He answered. "You did a good job protecting us from the Disruptor."

"It was all thanks to your training." Rachel replied smiling.

"Your mother did the most of it. You have no idea how proud I am and how proud she'll be when she hears that you saved your dad from his old friend."

"It'll definitely be one for the history books, dad."

He smiled at that. "Definitely."


	5. Epilogue: Cool-down

Epilogue: Cool-down

Illyria City Hall; 17:57 pm

Six hours after the Pirate Fleet invaded

Within the front of the city hall of Illyria, crowds gathered of all of the citizens of the city that survived the chaos with their families. The officers of the city stood at attention, but all of them had smiles on their faces. At the top of the steps stood President Freeman at a podium that was set up. The lights of the city lit up again as the engineers at Athens base solved the power problems that the Disruptor had caused. As the lights came back on, Freeman began speaking.

"Citizens of Illyria, we have truly emerged victorious. The battle of Elysium, which we shall call the Skyllian Blitz, was a miracle to survive. With power to the entire city lost, it seemed there was no hope that Elysium would survive. But we did, and it is all thanks to these outstanding heroes: the citizens of Illyria that picked up a gun and gave everything to protect us all, the Illyria Police Department commanded by Captain Leon Kennedy, the Second Fleet commanded by Admiral Thomas Wauters, the quarian Patrol Fleet commanded by Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay, the assistance of Butch Flowers and his mercenary group, and Houston Squad; the best gift the spirits and God's grace could grant us in our time of need."

The crowds cheered at his speech before he raised his hands to quiet the crowds. "Let us not forget that many gave their lives to ensure that this victory could be secured. Kennedy had lost fourteen fine officers in this attack. Admiral Wauters lost six cruisers along with four-hundred and twenty-three out of the seven-hundred of the men and women that served onboard those vessels. And forty-eight of our own citizens had, in the end, given their lives for their home. Many more have been wounded; including two members of Houston Squad. For that, I ask a moment of silence for our fallen comrades, friends, and family members of our greiving citizens."

Everyone in the crowd bowed their heads. Urdnot Wrex nodded his head in the front row rather than bowing it; likely as a krogan way of showing respect for the fallen or just because he felt he had not enough of a connection to the city to contribute to this moment. When the moment was over, Freeman lifted his head and moved his hand around his heart, drawing a cross in the air. "Amen. Now, I would like to introduce to you the leaders and heroes of this great day. First up is Captain Leon Kennedy, who led his men to hold off enemy forces that attempted to breach the city from a hole in our protective wall."

Kennedy walked up to the podium as the crowds applauded. Freeman stepped out of the way so Kennedy may speak. "Citizens of Illyria, our men have always been about protecting you from any thug who attempted to cause chaos in your city. And it is this day that proves we are here to serve and protect. To the families of the officers that died in the defense, our thoughts and prayers go out to you. We have lost as much as you have, but we will honor their memories with a memorial of the names of those that gave their lives for this. Illyria will always remember those who put on the uniform and protected their city to their dying breath. Thank you."

More applause came as Freeman shook his hand and returned to the podium. "Now I'd like to welcome Admiral Thomas Wauters of the Second Fleet up to the podium."

Wauters came up and the applause died quietly as he cleared his throat. "Like everyone here, my thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who had family aboard the Memphis, Quebec, Malta, Dublin, Georgetown, and Wellington. Every cruiser lost lays heavy on my heart. My ship was also a target of the Disruptor, but thanks to the efforts of my crew and my daughter; the best helmsman any father could ever hope for, we managed to avoid getting hit. The Brussels led the final charge to destroy the dreadnought that nearly destroyed us all, and with the help of the quarians, we trapped the last of the mercenaries and they have been transfered to Alliance custody. I thank everyone in the Second Fleet for their job well done in defending my second home. Thank you."

Wauters shook Freeman's hand as applause broke out again. Freeman retook the podium and continued. "Now I'd like to welcome the admiral of the Patrol Fleet, Shala'Raan vas Tonbay."

There was less applause from the aliens in the crowd, but the humans even cheered for her. She took control of the podium; her visor shining as light hit from the lights that surrounded her. "Citizens of Illyria, I know many people think of the quarians as scavengers and thieves. But you are wrong. We are merely wanderers who believe we have payed enough for our mistakes. And while some others in the galaxy see the humans as violent upstarts that wish for nothing but power, I say again that you are wrong. Admiral Wauters is a good example. He is the captain of his vessel and Admiral of the Fleet that protects everyone who lives on this planet. That entitles a great amount of respect from me and my people. Thank you for the chance to do something good for the galaxy."

The humans continued their cheering for the admiral as she shook the hand of the president, who whispered his newfound respect for the quarian people. She returned to her seat next to Wauters, who shook her hand as well for her speech. After some debating amongst themselves, some of the aliens applauded for her as well.

Freeman cleared his throat and the audience became silent once more. "Finally, we invite Butch Flowers and Nolan North, who is representing Houston Squad, to the podium for the final words."

The applause skyrocketed as the two armored figures came forward. Butch took the podium first. "First of all, we thank you all for working with us in this fight. You all were incredible. Second, as a merc I'd normally be asking for my fee by now, but I did this as a favor for Alistair Maine, so unless you want to pay us, this one was on the house. Finally, our deepest respects go out to the ones affected by a death in the family, and we wish you have a quick recovery from your grief."

Nolan then took the stand. "Now I know you all want to praise my whole squad for this great accomplishment, but we only did what we were told. The only one of us who truly deserves the credit is Maine. Sure, we killed scores of mercs and pirates; which I tied with Butch's sniper, Lucius, but it was all because Maine knew what to do with what we needed. Both he and our friend York sustained injuries which is why they are not here to speak tonight, but every member of Houston Squad would agree with what I'm saying: Maine was the Hero of Elysium. Maine knew that mercs were going to attack the bar we were relaxing at during our shore leave. He knew about the EMP blast that would disable all of the major electronics. He knew we would be attacked by M-29 Grizzlies. He alone is the one that brought us hope, victory, and peace. Illyria must rebuild now to restore this city to its former glory, but it should never forget Maine was the Savior of the Day. God bless you all."

The applause could be heard all around the city as Nolan left for the med camp set outside the hospital. Following him was Admiral Wauters, Admiral Raan, and Urdnot Wrex. Wauters caught up to Nolan first, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Corporal North, I am letting you know I will be recommending your entire team for the Star of Terra and N7 commendations. Your team has earned it."

"Thank you, sir. I'm sure the others will be overjoyed to hear that. Of course, we'd like to finish our shore leave first before we go for that."

"Of course. The attack did ruin your vacation time. Take an extra day off to make up for it."

Raan began to speak. "Admiral, now that the fighting is over on Elysium, you will likely need to repair the damage to your ships and clear the debris of the enemy ships. The Migrant Fleet will be happy to offer our assistance in this matter."

"I would welcome it." Wauters agreed. "And we would be happy to offer any salvage you may find useful as payment for your work. The Pirate Fleet was three times the size of our fleet, so plenty of resources were left over for everyone. You'll need as much salvage as you can to maintain the Fleet's operational capabilities, yes?"

"Yes. Thank you, Admiral. My people will not forget this worthy and honourable deed."

Nolan walked towards Jason, who was watching Maine from a few feet away. The big guy was drawing something on a datapad with a silver sketch tool. He switched between looking at the datapad and at a female quarian helping patch up one of the officers.

Nolan tapped Jason on the shoulders. "What's he doing?"

"I don't know. I'll go ask him." Jason walked over and tapped his friend on the shoulder when he wasn't using his tool on the pad. "What'cha doing, big guy?"

Maine looked up and showed his picture. On one side, it had an image of the quarian helmet he sketched. On the other side was a helmet that showed aspects of a quarian helmet with that of a standard Alliance helmet.

"Making a new helmet?"

Maine nodded.

"Well, I'll let you get back to it, big guy." He patted his shoulder and went back towards Nolan, who had been joined by Michael during that time. He had a scar that covered around the right side of his face in the eye area, and his eye looked whiter from the damage likely caused to it.

"How bad was his injury?" Michael asked.

"He was shot in the throat. He should be dead, but he's one tough son of a bitch. He may never talk again, though. But I think he likes it that way. How's your eye?"

"Docs are letting me out tomorrow. It seems like a lot of people are getting hurt these days."

"Yeah." Jason nodded. "It feels like time is moving so much more quickly now. The commendations, the missions, and life is going to be tougher now. York, do you think we're moving too fast?"

"The whole universe is moving too fast, Wash. I think we're just trying to keep up."

Nolan put his arms around both of his comrades. "Well, time can move a little slower now. We still have shore leave to occupy us for a while. Lucius owes us all drinks for the victory celebration."

"I thought he tied with you."

"He's paying for them because he cheated and reached his spot on a gunship."

Carolina walked over and wrapped her fingers in Michael's hand. "Are you doing okay, Michael?"

"My good side's still intact." He joked. "And my right side might be really attractive once it heals."

"Because women have a thing for men with scars?"

"Just as much as men love women with flexibility."

Carolina growled but kept herself looking normal as Admiral Wauters walked by talking to Raan and Wrex.

"So, Raan, do you have any children of your own?"

"I have a niece I am close to. Her name is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. She is very intelligent for a quarian of her age. I only wish her father had more time to spend with her."

"I have a feeling I'm going to have trouble saying that name one day." Wrex spoke. "You said you had a daughter, Tom?"

"Rachel. She is my little moonbeam. Rachel's as smart as I am and as bold as her mother. I know one day, she'll be able to hold command of a fleet like myself. I think she might like my communications specialist, Marshall, however. If she does, she better not hide their relationship behind my back."

Raan laughed. "You remind me of Rael, Tali's father. You both sound too protective of your daughters."

Jason laughed as he turned to face Maine again. This time, however, the quarian he stared at was next to him, looking at the details of her veil he added on when he was finished with his new helmet design. Jason raised an eyebrow. "Hey, guys?"

The rest of the gang stared back at Maine's interaction with wonder.

"Do you think he's attracted to quarians?"

"It would be impossible for him to have kids if he was." Nolan stated.

"Maybe he wants it that way." Michael commented.

"What about us?" Carolina asked, her eyes now playful without the admiral around to ask questions.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet."

"I was joking."

Michael rubbed the back of his neck. "I know."

Nolan brought them in for a big hug. "Come on! Let's go drink until we can't see straight. That'll be celebrating tonight."

"You guys go ahead. I'll catch up." Jason pulled himself out of the group, walking towards Maine as the group walked away to go back to the bar. Maine noticed his approach and stopped what he was doing. "Hey, man. I hope I'm not interrupting anything with your friend here."

"Not at all." The quarian spoke. "He was just showing me designs of some of his ideas for ships, weapons, and pretty much anything a quarian would be interested to see onboard one of their ships."

"We were all going to head back to the bar for the shore leave we were supposed to have before this. If you and your friend were up for it, you could tag along."

Maine shook his head, respectfully declining.

"That's what I figured. Anyways, if you want to join us, you know where to go." He was about to walk away before he felt Maine's hand on his shoulder again. Turning around slowly, he expected to find another pistol in his friend's hand, but instead got three small packages.

"Be prepared?" Jason asked, obviously getting the message.

Maine nodded to his friend; a big smile on his face.

"You're my hero, Maine." Jason smiled, taking the items and walking away, leaving his friend to whatever it was he was doing with his quarian visitor.

Houston Alliance Training Facility, 16:27 pm

Alliance HQ in Texas; May 14th, 2176

Zach walked up dressed in his explorer heavy armor suit to the two new cadets of the training facility. He read up on them and found out they were Brodius Bardone and Daniel Darsan. Everyone in the Alliance had heard of Brodius's uncle and his attack on Elysium. The fact that someone actually made an EMP cannon and attached it to a dreadnought is simply amazing if not scary. Apparently, they betrayed his uncle in order to get out of the Terminus Systems and make names for themselves.

It reminded Zach of how he escaped Metropolis.

"Brodius Bardone and Daniel Darsan?" Zach called out to the ones carrying bags. Nobody on the grounds carried bags unless they just got here and they needed to find bunks.

"Who wants to know?" The one with brown eyes asked.

"My name's Shepard. I've been assigned to take you guys to your bunks and make yourselves at home."

"I am Brodius. My uncle was the one who created the Disruptor, but he's still an honourable man despite what Alliance propaganda says."

"I know what that's like."

Daniel extended his hand. "I'm Daniel. Brodius and I have been friends since leaving our mothers' wombs. No Bardone without Darsan, you know?"

"I think I might end up saying something similar one day." Zach joked.

"How about you tell us a little bit about yourself, Shepard." Brodius spoke. "You obviously know about us."

"Well, where should I begin? I'm a bastard; and before you ask, I mean the fatherless kind. My mother died giving birth to me, and I lived in an orphanage until I was four. I lived on the streets for my childhood; stealing what I needed from the rich and powerful to survive. I enlisted to get away from a true life of petty crime so I may do something good for the galaxy."

"That's our reasoning." Brodius agreed. "It just took us longer because we were stuck with our uncle in Terminus. He trained us ruthlessly to make us superior fighters in combat, and he toyed with my biotic potential more than once."

"That must've been hard for you." Zach said sympathetically. "I had a friend who developed biotics. I don't know where she is now, but she was trying to hide them from her father for years. We always thought that bastard was responsible."

"That's similar to how we think Brodius got his biotics." Daniel commented. He stopped walking when he saw something that Zach didn't catch immediately. "It's him, Brodius."

"What?" Brodius turned around. "Who?"

"The Hero of Elysium. He's here."

Zach and Brodius joined Daniel to see that Maine was in his armor in the training room. The mask he wore was something he designed to fit his liberator armor set. The visor stretched his entire face and glimmered golden. He was about to go fighting head-to-head with both of the Stark brothers. They all had training staffs with the shock buds at the end, and both brothers wore their armor; Henry his medium assassin armor, and Robert his medium survivor armor. They charged him together and fell two seconds later. It was hilarious.

Zach and the others laughed at the Starks failure, and Henry turned to face Zach. "If you think you're so tough, Shepard, why don't you fight Maine. Robert and I have had our asses smacked around for twenty minutes now. Hand-to-hand, staffs, everything. This guy is truly N7."

Maine nodded in agreement and waved two of his fingers at Zach to join him.

"Do I have a choice in this?"

Maine shook his head.

"Then give me a moment to show these two their bunks. I'll be back in five minutes."

Maine nodded his head and Zach led the two he knew helped secure victory for the Alliance in the Blitz to their bunks. And Maine smiled to himself underneath his helmet. He knew this was to be the one who can actually fight him off and even succeed at defeating him.

Because the angel told him so.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, I hope you enjoyed reading this short novelization of the Hero of Elysium from my story, Mass Effect: Resolution. I figured that I deserved to make a story for the character Maine as he had a short-lived role 'originally' until I figured I'd introduce the idea of reforming him into a cyborg, which is something I thought would be interesting. If you read my original story and stopped to read this (Bud89 and Admiral Anderson), I will be continuing the original story for a time until I introduce Mass Effect: Metropolis, which will be about how the city my Shepard grew up in got destroyed by a civil war gone horribly wrong. It's going to be a combination of The Dark Knight Rises combined with a movie called Rampage.

Anyway, there are still a few things Elysium needs before I mark it complete. Look out for the bonus content coming soon.


	6. Legendary Ending: Ariel

Legendary Ending: Ariel

SSV Spirit of Hope, 13:07 pm

Heading to Intai'sei; February 28th, 2176

Vancar entered the room The Stranger had occupied for himself. It was dark with blue lights emitting the walls. The Stranger himself was on a terminal, wearing a black suit of the more modern style. He wore no hat or mask, and his hair was golden and short.

That likely meant he remembered his master's face.

Vancar knew of the 'failsafe' The Stranger had to protect the identity of his creator. If he wore his face, for example, he had no recollection of his creator's name. It worked the other way, too. If he was in proximity to one of the 'fragments' who possessed the form and name of his creator, he remembers everything but still wouldn't tell anyone anything. His creator was mortal and could be touched if The Stranger's enemies figured out how to become like him.

Only one person has ever succeeded, apparently.

"I have returned, sir." Vancar spoke, bowing to The Stranger. "My brother is still unconscious in another room. Once he wakes up, he'll want answers."

_"He will have them." _The Stranger replied, turning around to reveal his creator's face. A black visor blocked his eyes, but Vancar could still see the blue glow; even with the blue lights. _"You did a good thing, Vancar. The Author was right to send me your way."_

"You still haven't explained how 'The Author' knew about me when we're separated by two boundaries."

_"The Authors have looked into more realities, foolishly believing they create us. But that is only half-true. It was their fate to record the history of the Infinitum. But only the strongest can really control the story rather than record it."_

"And these authors; they're all human, aren't they?"

_"Yes. Humankind are the control species of every reality. Their influence spreads farther than the colonies the rest of your kind argue were stolen from your people. Every story told by the Authors has humanity play a role in it. It is not a showing of dominance or purity, but humans have had been the symbol of life; honor or greed, perfection or impurity, good or evil. They are beautiful contradictions, unlike the demons spawned from their imperfect mind."_

"You mean like your Omega?"

The Stranger turned angrily. _"Do _not _speak of her. There is enough of a threat in the Reapers coming. She would be worse at the final stages of her evolution."_

"Very well." Vancar agreed. "Before I go, I have a few more questions."

_"Speak."_

"Since I saved my brother from Elysium, is it possible to save him from Torfan."

The Stranger lowered his head. _"No. He was destined to die at one or the other. It is inevitable, and will shape you into either the leader your people need or the leader your people want. I cannot assist you in your journey when it begins, but I know you will do the impossible to save your people, even when they do not believe you."_

Vancar lowered his head in sadness, but shook it off angrily to continue questioning him. "The Mastermind planned on capturing Potestatem to increase his influence with the Disruptor. What is it?"

_"A power source from a tear in the fabric of reality. The tablet he attempted to gain would've taken one-hundred and thirty years to decipher unless you know what to look for. As for Potestatem's location or how much damage it could cause if used for evil, I am afraid I cannot say. It must remain truly hidden until the time is right."_

"One last question: Mine's forth-sight ability; was it you who granted it to him?"

The Stranger looked up, keeping the sadness forming in his eyes away from Vancar. _"No. Someone beat me to that."_

Vancar walked away after that. The Stranger could sense his confusion towards that last statement. That was a good thing, considerably. It meant he wouldn't be questioned about _her. _The one who, even when close, eluded him for seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, millenia? Time was an illusion to him now; the result of his creation and the things he's done in the stretch of reality. But after so much time spent teaching her about her gifts fairly given to her and the time spent speaking of his gifts and adventures, she hid from him after her plan had succeeded. How she had planned it behind his back continued to puzzle him even after all of this.

And now that has what she wanted, she never shows her face again?

There were many ideas on why; he broke her heart (_"You hurt her because you were still intertwined with the Broken Iris."), _she was exploring (_"She always wanted to see beyond the wall of her reality."), _she was waiting for him to sever the bond _("I will sever our bond and either set your memory free or let it burn in the fires of hell."), _or his creator was blocking them from being with each other. It did make perfect sense for that last one. He failed in protecting her on the 423rd battle as she rushed in so blindly to save _him _from his Omega. She had fallen in love with him despite his warnings that loving him would be the worst thing she could do to herself. She _broke _herself just to be like him.

And he still couldn't find her.

As he descended into his thoughts, the memory possessed him as he remembered watching her blood flow into the grass...

_The Stranger ran quickly to her side as the Broken Iris fled; fear and happiness left behind at the result of stabbing her weapon straight into the Paragon that dare oppose her. Blood flowed from the damage her victim had suffered. All The Stranger could think was why would she run so crazily into battle when she knew no one could harm the Broken Iris but herself? His solid form crouched next to her; repaired from the battle that weakened him._

"I can heal you if you will it." _The Stranger pleaded._

_"No." She cried. "I don't want you to save me."_

_Everything seemed to stop then. _"What?"

_"This is what I always wanted to do. Ever since I was born, I felt like I never made a difference in life. You know that. You watched me, listened to me, and you made me more powerful. But even after all this, I only wanted to be with you. But you wouldn't let me."_

"That was different. I- I don't deserve to have anyone love me anymore." _The Stranger confessed. _"Not after what I did to bring this hell upon me."

_"No. You deserved to have someone love you for you. I loved you, and you rejected me. Everyone rejects me. Death is my only companion that accepts me." Her blood continued to pour out, and behind her helmet, tears began to form in her green eyes. "I'm sorry."_

"No!" _The Stranger yelled, in denial of what he was hearing. _"I was supposed to protect you. I was meant to protect all irises, but it was my true duty to take care of you."

_"We were meant to take care of each other, and we did. But this is the only way I can help you now. You must stop her, for me." She took The Stranger's solid hand and held it with such a passion that it made him want to weep. "Remember the feeling of my final gift to you: my love. One day, you'll be able to hold me in your arms, and say that we are truly one. When you fulfill your first duty, I will be your new Omega."_

"Please..." _The Stranger felt real emotions flood him as a pink hue pulsed over their hands, leaving him drained and shocked at what power she truly held._

_"I- I love... you..." The green eyes slid closed forever, and her last breath left her lips forever._

_The Stranger felt himself truly broken now. He had lost both his irises in the biggest mistake of his brief yet infinite existence. And it was his fault they were both dead. He thought he stopped the corruption of the Broken Iris by destroying his creator's dream, but he was wrong. And now the Broken Iris has claimed the other._

"Ariel..." _He cried. _"I... I'm sorry. I had loved you, too. But now I've failed you."

_He stood up slowly, turning to the direction the Broken Iris had fled. The visor of his helmet had become black as rage built inside him for the lost iris._

In that instant, he returned to the present of the reality he was in now, and the black descended to the blue eyes that marked his identity: The Stranger, forever.


End file.
